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Higher Learning Commission Approves New Campuses and Gives Cooley a 10-year Approval
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Cooley's J.D. Program Now Available at Oakland and Grand Rapids Locations
On behalf of Cooley’s faculty, staff, and Board of Directors, I welcome you to Cooley’s new J.D. locations at Rochester/Oakland University and Grand Rapids/Western Michigan University.
Cooley has been an American Bar Association-accredited law school since 1975. Now, in June 2006, the American Bar Association has granted acquiescence for Cooley to implement its full Juris Doctor program at both Oakland and Grand Rapids. Effective August 1, 2006 Cooley will do so.
The Higher Learning Commission granted initial accreditation to Cooley in 2001, and in May 2006 granted its full ten-year accreditation to Cooley. At that time, it also approved the first two years of the Oakland and Grand Rapids programs. With the ABA acquiescence, the HLC staff then approved the Oakland location for the full J.D. program and recommended the same approval for Grand Rapids. With staff approval, the Oakland program is now a full J.D. program. The staff recommendation for the final year at Grand Rapids must be approved by the Commission. The reason for this last step is that Grand Rapids is a new degree-granting site, while Oakland was already HLC-approved to grant the LL.M. degree in law, permitting final approval by the staff. Review of the favorable staff recommendation for Grand Rapids will take place on August 28, 2006, and we anticipate that the results will also be favorable.
With these actions by the major accrediting bodies, Cooley adds to its unique package of legal education. Cooley has been the only year-around program in the country for thirty years, allowing students to study part-time but graduate in the normal three years; it has the only year-around weekend program that allows graduation in three years; it is one of only two schools that allows graduation in two calendar years for full-time students.
Now, Cooley becomes the only accredited law school with three branch locations and the only law school with close ties to two Carnegie-rated research universities—Oakland University and Western Michigan University. Students now can study at Cooley’s Lansing campus, located in Michigan’s Capitol, with access to the three branches of government. Or students can attend Cooley on the campus of Oakland University, a Division I institution located in the heart of Michigan business and technology. Or students can enroll at the Grand Rapids campus, in an upscale and dynamic urban area, where one of Western Michigan University’s branch campuses is located.
All students, however, are Cooley students, regardless of which campus they choose. They may attend at any campus and in any division—morning, afternoon, evening, or weekend, subject only to classroom space. We will remain a single institution with three locations, allowing a connection among all of our students, faculty, and staff.
Our new 100,000 square foot facility in Grand Rapids is already occupied and will be completed in its entirety in time for classes in September 2006. Our current space at Oakland is in O’Dowd Hall, one of the University’s major structures, and we have begun discussions with Oakland University for a permanent new facility on their campus. Meanwhile, Cooley has now completed a major expansion and renovation of its Lansing campus, with over 400,000 square feet of space now in service.
I invite you to visit all three campuses and make a choice. You will not find better facilities anywhere. With Cooley’s tuition among the very lowest in the nation, you will find nothing comparable for the money. Nor will you find nicer people with whom to share the adventure of legal education or better people to prepare you for the practice of law.
Regards,
Don LeDuc
President and Dean
July 14, 2006
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This Page was last updated on:
07/13/2006